biostudies-literatureOikawa SMEXT | Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS)MEXT | JST | Exploratory Research for Advanced Technology (ERATO)10424https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC12669698biostudies-literatureUnknown16(1)Optimal transport theory, originally developed in the 18th century for civil engineering, has since become a powerful optimization framework across disciplines, from generative AI to cell biology. In physics, it has recently been shown to set fundamental bounds on thermodynamic dissipation in finite-time processes. This extends beyond the conventional second law, which guarantees zero dissipation only in the quasi-static limit and cannot characterize the inevitable dissipation in finite-time processes. Here, we experimentally realize thermodynamically optimal transport using optically trapped microparticles, achieving minimal dissipation within a finite time. As an application to information processing, we implement the optimal finite-time protocol for information erasure, confirming that Nature communicationsExperimentally achieving minimal dissipation via thermodynamically optimal transport.PMC1266969824H00834JPMJER220423H01136JPMJER230223H0046722H01141Nakayama YSagawa TIto SToyabe SOikawa SfalseExperimentally achieving minimal dissipation via thermodynamically optimal transport.Optimal transport theory, originally developed in the 18th century for civil engineering, has since become a powerful optimization framework across disciplines, from generative AI to cell biology. In physics, it has recently been shown to set fundamental bounds on thermodynamic dissipation in finite-time processes. This extends beyond the conventional second law, which guarantees zero dissipation only in the quasi-static limit and cannot characterize the inevitable dissipation in finite-time processes. Here, we experimentally realize thermodynamically optimal transport using optically trapped microparticles, achieving minimal dissipation within a finite time. As an application to information processing, we implement the optimal finite-time protocol for information erasure, confirming that 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z2025 Dec2026-06-06T07:10:29.057Z2026-06-06T03:06:21.042ZS-EPMC126696984132636610.1038/s41467-025-66519-9